Shell Shocked

I was watching one of my all-time favorite movies (for the tenth time ;) the other day --- A Very Long Engagement. Without giving too much away, the story is about this young girl, who despite being told that her fiancé has been killed in the war (the 'Great' one), tries to find out the true story. It's not just a love story, but a story about war and how it affects people.

I love the 1910's, but I'm not into the politics of WWI. I do like to learn about the lives of the soldiers. I can't imagine living in the trenches with bombs, gunfire, and mustard gas. A Very Long Engagment also touches upon the issue of 'shell shock.' It's now called combat stress, which can lead to post traumatic stress disorder. Even though I'm sure that there were people who suffered from combat stress in every war ever fought, it is strongly associated with the First World War. If you've ever seen a documentary about this war, you've probably seen some shocking video of shell-shocked soldiers. Below are a few interesting ones I found on Youtube.

WARNING: Some of these videos can be very disturbing.